Ethiopian Women in Arab State

Introduction One of largest current international migration flows is Ethiopian women migrating to the Middle East as domestic workers, which also often occurs through trafficking. The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2009) defines trafficking to include use of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability (Article 3). In the case of Ethiopian women going to the Middle East, the initial migration decision is made by their own free will. They are, however, given misinformation regarding the position and circumstances waiting for them in the host country. Numbers of trafficked women are unknown but are estimated to be as large as 130,000 Ethiopian women in the Gulf States (IOM, no year). The top destinations are Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates (IOMi, no year). The profile and methods of international trafficking are similar to internal trafficking. Women trafficked to the Middle East are generally between 20-30 years of age (IOM, no year). The women who leave are living in poverty, and few have completed high school. The majority of women being internationally trafficked are from urban areas, with a large number coming from Addis Ababa. International trafficking often occurs via the same method that internal trafficking does: through brokers who connect to people through facilitations. Again, facilitators are known by the individual and trusted (IOM, no year). Women who migrate to the Middle East will often do so using a tourist visa and claim to be travelling for a religious pilgrimage. In the past they would fly directly from the Addis Ababa airport. Due the establishment of an immigration office at the airport that requires people to show work permits before they leave, it is now more common for people to go to neighbouring countries prior to departing (IOM, no year). This makes it more difficult for the government to track their citizens migration. Ethiopian women working as domestic workers in the Middle East are described as suffering inadequate working conditions and physical and sexual abuse (Anbesse et al., 2009, p. 560). Women have described having their passports taken away so they cannot leave, being expected to work 24 hours per day, and not being able to have contact with other Ethiopians. The study by Anbesse et al. (2009) described how these conditions lead to social defeat of the migrant women. From 1999-2005 the Quarantine Office of the Addis Ababa International Airport reported 129 female bodies returned from Jeddah, Dubai, and Beirut (IOM, no year, p. 53). In all cases the cause of death was determined to be suicide (IOM, no year, p. 53). The study conducted by Anbesse et al. (2009) on returnees from the Middle East to Ethiopia arose due to the observations of the number of return migrants seeking professional psychiatric help. The authors suggest that this is just the tip of the iceberg of mental disorders experienced by female migrants, and it is an area of concern. As stated previously, Ethiopian women may be trafficked both through legal and illegal channels. There is one licensed employment agency sending women to Lebanon that is

supposed to afford more protection to the women. There is also second stage trafficking, where women may migrate legally or illegally, but to escape an abusive employer, may use another broker or agent to find another job. There are reportedly more than 200 agents recruiting Ethiopian women in this way in Lebanon. In such cases, women are more vulnerable to trafficking and abuse at the hands of the second employer, due to their illegal status. Traffickers manipulate routes, and some reports now indicate that United Arab Emirates has overtaken Lebanon as the most popular destination country for Ethiopian migrants. There is no consular representation in UAE, Bahrain or Oman, thus women in these countries are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Women who are undocumented are more likely to be trafficked as they have less protection in the country of destination. The Hadj (Muslim pilgrimage) is frequently used by women migrants as a pretext to enter Saudi Arabia, as in H.s and Ns cases below. Case of H. H. left Ethiopia when she was 17 to go work as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia. She borrowed money from friends of her family to buy a plane ticket, and changed her name to a Muslim name so she could enter Saudi Arabia freely during the Hadj. At the airport she was met by a broker, A. who took her and other Ethiopian women from the airport to a house and made arrangements for them to find jobs as domestic workers. A. made a contract with H. under which she agreed to give the agency the entire first three months salary from her job, and then from the fourth month onwards, 50% of Hs wage would go to the agency. H. had to give her passport to A. who kept it the entire time she was working. Case of N. N. is from a village in Northern Ethiopia. She comes from a large family, but not desperately poor, her father is a dairy farmer. She has two brothers, one of whom is a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia. At 19, she wanted to change her life for the better so she decided to go work in the Middle East as a domestic worker. N. organised her trip through an employment agency for a fee of 9000 birr. Her family lent her the money so she could go. She spent five years working for a family in Riyadh. She was paid every month, and was given a regular day off. The hours of work were reasonable. She was able to save some money, and returned to Ethiopia 5 years later with enough money to start her own business. N. bought four machines to grind tef, this business she passed on to her younger brother. After 6 months at home, N. decided she wanted to leave again, to earn some more money abroad so she decided to go to Dubai for a change. I went home and I decided I didnt want to get married yet, and that seemed like all there was for girls to do. I want to be independent and have a better life, thats why I decided to go to Dubai. She organised the trip through another employment agency, this time they charged 7000 birr, which she paid upfront, borrowing the money from

one of her brothers. The agency promised her she would work as a babysitter, not as a cleaner, and promised she would work in the city of Dubai. Trafficked women are usually introduced to agents through a friend or relative, or agents may approach women directly themselves. Women, such as N. are often unsure as to the legality of their agent. According to an IOM study, the recruitment fee for illegal agents may range from 1000-7000 birr. EWLAii state the fee may be as high as 10,000 birr. Often women pay half the fee before they depart and half is to be deducted from their wages. Women usually borrow the money from relatives or friends to pay the agent. Migrants sometimes sign contracts before they leave, but then may be forced to sign new contracts upon arrival with very different terms and conditions, and often in Arabic so they cannot read it. In other cases, women may have an oral agreement with the agent as to what they will do, how much money they will earn, like in N.s case. As in H.s case, not all women use brokers to facilitate the travel and work from Ethiopia. Opportunities for Ethiopian Women in Arab State Most Ethiopian females thinks that there are a better opportunities in Arab state to make their futures better. Some of the advantages are listed below. Arab states pay well for small works like cleaning, cooking and care-taking tasks. It is easy to have gold and a niece cloth from their employer. Migrate to Arab states may give the opportunity to migrate other country It is a better opportunity to support their family Working in Arab states also gives a nice opportunity to save their money and invest it to their homeland after they return.

Omission of Ethiopian females in Arab state As described earlier, working in Arab states has a lot of disadvantages for Ethiopian females. I have tried to list some of these below. suffering inadequate working conditions Exposed to physical and sexual abuse Exposed to mental disorder Their passports taken away by their employers so they cannot leave, being expected to work 24 hours per day, and not being able to have contact with other Ethiopians

These are not all the problems that Ethiopian females faced in Arab states. There are also a negative impact on the females family and also the country. So it should discontinue trafficking females to the Arab state. The best solutions recommended to overcome these problems are stated below.

Recommendations for the problem The following is a list of appropriate activities to be taken in Ethiopia, in order of priority:
Recommendation 1: Training/capacity building on trafficking and human rights

AIM: To reduce trafficking by ensuring womens NGOs in Ethiopia have a clear understanding of trafficking, the impact of different strategies to counter trafficking, and tools to monitor the extent of trafficking in women in their own country.
Recommendation 2: Research on trafficking of women

AIM: A regional research study to assess the magnitude of trafficking in women in Ethiopia and build a network of Women NGOs within the region.
Recommendation 3: Training/capacity building to provide services to victims of trafficking

AIM: To reduce trafficking by ensuring trafficked women and girls have protection and appropriate services in the countries of origin, both for potential migrants before they leave and women returning home through deportation or their own means.
Recommendation 5: HIV/AIDS awareness targeting exploiters

AIM: Preventing HIV/AIDS infection of trafficked women by raising awareness of clients of sex workers and employers of domestic workers.
Recommendation 6: Income generating activities for returnees

AIM: To ensure migrant women returning to Ethiopia are not retrafficked and have alternative income generating opportunities in Ethiopia.
Recommendation 7: Empowerment and organisation of returnees

AIM: To empower migrant women returning to Ethiopia not to be retrafficked and for such women to play an active role in the reintegration process, preventing trafficking and protecting migrants.
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IOM (International Organization for Migration) EWLA (Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association)

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Sources: - Study on Trafficking in Women in East Africa, by Elaine Pearson,

- RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE, Australia - Marina de Regt, Ph.D, Amsterdam School for Social science Research University of Amsterdam